We tell you the honest answer — even when the honest answer is no.

Last updated: June 2026 — answers reviewed against the CICC and MARA public registers and IRCC's published guidance on using immigration consultants.

Six questions people ask before they sit down with any consultancy — including this one.

How do I choose an immigration consultant in Dubai?

Start with regulation, not marketing. Canada and Australia are the only two major destinations that license immigration representatives, so a genuine consultant should hold a CICC registration (Canada) or a MARA/OMARA registration (Australia) and give you the number on request. Next, judge how they handle your profile: a credible firm runs an eligibility assessment and will tell you plainly when you do not yet qualify, rather than selling you a package. Be wary of anyone who guarantees a visa, quotes a price before seeing your case, or hides behind an unnamed “overseas partner”. Check independent reviews, confirm a physical UAE office, and ask which regulated body stands behind the advice. We set out the whole process, including the red flags to walk away from, in our step-by-step guide to verifying an immigration consultant in Dubai. Cosmos is a Dubai-based consultancy that works under regulated representation and is happy to be checked. You can verify any Canadian consultant on the official CICC public register. Source: register.college-ic.ca.

How do I verify a consultant's CICC or MARA licence?

Verify it yourself on the official government register — never accept a logo or a screenshot as proof. For Canada, every legitimate immigration consultant is registered with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC); search their name or licence number on the CICC public register and confirm the status reads “Active”. For Australia, registered migration agents appear on the OMARA register run by the Australian Government; search the agent or firm and check the MARN is current, not suspended or cancelled. The whole check takes about two minutes per register. Our guide to MARA-registered migration agents in Dubai explains what the register does and does not tell you. If a firm will not give you a number, or only offers an unnamed partner, treat that as your answer. Cosmos works under regulated representation and invites you to check us the same way. Verify Australian agents at portal.mara.gov.au. Source: portal.mara.gov.au.

What are the common immigration scams in Dubai?

Four patterns account for most of the damage: guaranteed visas, "job offer included" packages, payment into a personal bank account, and consultants who exist only on WhatsApp or Instagram. Legitimate firms invoice to a company account, sign written agreements and never promise a government decision. If someone asks for payment over a messaging app, walk away.

Are immigration consultants worth it, or should I apply myself?

For a straightforward, clearly eligible profile, DIY works — plenty of people do it. Representation earns its keep on program strategy and documentation quality, the two places refused files usually fail, and it filters out the unlicensed agencies common in the Gulf. Either way, only a licensed practitioner may legally represent you for a fee.

Can a consultant speed up my visa application?

No — and anyone claiming "priority processing connections" has just told you what they are. Canada's government states this plainly in its published consultant guidance: no one can speed up processing. What a licensed consultant does control is filing a complete, error-free application first time, which avoids the months lost to returned files and refusals.

How much does an immigration consultant cost in Dubai — and why do quotes differ so much?

It depends on the program, family size and case complexity — which is why serious firms quote only after assessing your file. Quotes differ because scope differs: licensed representation versus form-filling, full process versus one stage, refusal support included or not. Compare itemised written scopes, never headline prices, and ask for yours in writing at the consultation.

"Using a representative will not draw special attention to your application or guarantee that we'll approve it." (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), How to choose an immigration or citizenship representative, accessed 24 July 2026)

Key takeaways

• Canada and Australia are the only two major destinations that license immigration representatives: CICC for Canada, MARA/OMARA for Australia.
• A paid representative who is not authorised can get your application returned or refused, by IRCC's own guidance.
• No representative can guarantee approval, and none can draw "special attention" to a file. IRCC states this directly.

Sources

• IRCC: How to choose an immigration or citizenship representative (accessed 24 July 2026)
• CICC Public Register (Canada, accessed 24 July 2026)
• OMARA Register of Migration Agents (Australia, accessed 24 July 2026)

Why we trade in facts, not guaranteed fiction.

We’ve been in Dubai since 2014 and completed 10,569 client assessments from our Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hyderabad and Oakville offices. Every claim on this page is something you can check yourself — not something you have to take our word for.

Why do some consultants promise cheaper fees, faster results, or a guaranteed outcome?

Because a lower price or a guaranteed outcome is easy to advertise and impossible to prove until your file has already been submitted. Immigration approval is a government decision, not a service Cosmos or anyone else controls — a consultant who cannot honestly say that isn’t being confident, they’re being careless with your money.

Cosmos is an immigration consultancy, not a law firm. Your file is handled by named individuals registered with CICC (Canada) or MARA (Australia) — and you don’t need to take that on faith. You can check the registration yourself, directly on the regulator’s own public register, before you sign anything or pay anyone:

• CICC (Canada): college-ic.ca/protecting-the-public/find-an-immigration-consultant
• MARA (Australia): portal.mara.gov.au/search-the-register-of-migration-agents/

Before you pay any consultant — us included — ask four questions:

1. Is the person actually handling my file individually registered with CICC or MARA, and can I verify that myself on the regulator’s public register right now?
2. What exactly is included in the fee, and what happens if my case takes longer than the estimate?
3. Is any part of the payment held back until a real milestone — filing, or a decision — is reached?
4. What’s the honest, worst-case answer for someone with my profile?

If a consultant can’t give you a name you can look up yourself, that’s the whole conversation, right there.

Why do some “Top 10 immigration consultant” lists always rank the same names at the top?

Because a number of those lists are published by immigration agencies themselves, ranking their own service first. We’ve seen this pattern across the market — a company selling immigration services publishing the “unbiased” ranking that happens to put itself at the top.

A blog post isn’t a credential. It has no regulator behind it, no complaint process, and no consequence for getting it wrong, because nobody enforces it. A government register entry has all three. Before you trust any “best of” list, check who owns the page — then check the individual consultant’s name against the actual regulator, not against the blog’s opinion of them. Our step-by-step guide to verifying an immigration consultant walks through the checks.

How do you tell a real review from a fake one — and why do some negative reviews use the word “scam”?

Look for what’s missing. A real client concern, even an angry one, usually mentions a specific service, a rough timeline, or a step in the process that went wrong. A fabricated review usually doesn’t, because the person writing it never went through the process.

Patterns worth noticing: no specific consultation date, service, or immigration pathway mentioned; an account with no other review history; language built entirely around emotional absolutes (“total scam”, “never again”) instead of describing what actually happened; and several similar accounts posting near-identical claims in a short window. We take every genuine client concern seriously and follow up directly. A review with no specifics behind it isn’t feedback — it’s noise. Our reputation and transparency page sets out how we handle this.